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Super Boo - Umdloti's Super Dog

Super Boo - Umdloti's Super Dog

Author: Kasia Yoko
Date: 2014-05-09
Boo, who is a two and a half year old thoroughbred a Golden Retriever from Umdloti, is slowly winning the hearts of the locals. He has a calm nature and shows unbelievable intelligence. Boo is a new resident in Umdloti having arrived at the beginning of the year and he has fitted in perfectly with the free spirited dogs on North Beach Road.

Boo's owners Tanya and Gerrard Wantenaar are both professionals with busy schedules. Tanya is a pathologist at the Albert Luthuli Hospital and Gerrard runs his own IT business from Umdloti, however every moment of their free time is spent hanging out with Boo, most of the time its spent in or around water.

"Gerrard gave Boo to me as a Christmas present in 2011 when he was just six weeks old. He was named after the little girl in Monster's Inc... We just loved the name and the little character in the animation." Tanya tells me.

"Boo is our everything... He goes everywhere from restaurants to shops to hiking and playing on the beach. He even sits on the SUP when we go paddling. He knows to sit and wait outside the shop while we are inside. The staff at Umdloti Spar knows him very well. In the restaurants he lies quietly under the table or next to the chair. To us he is not a dog... He is our little son and we love every little inch of him. It saddens us that so many places have no dog policies... We'd rather not go to such places than leave Boo home alone."

Besides his ten kilometre run each day alongside Gerrard's bike, Boo's favourite activity is going snorkelling with his human family. Fitted with a special lifesaver jacket that Gerrard bought on the Internet, Boo loves nothing better than to go swimming with his human friends, especially while they are snorkelling. Most of the time Boo floats along side Tanya and Gerrard but often times he swims to other people just to say 'hi' or swims off to retrieve snorkelling equipment that has been lost in the ocean.

Boo was the first born of the litter from pure breed stock and even though his owners Tanya and Gerrard have done basic training when Boo was a pupBoo was always top of the class. His last training involved 'tracking' but he was not able to complete the course because Tanya was offered a transfer to KZN and they had to pack up and leave Cape Town, interfering with Boo's education.

In Cape Town Boo was used to rehabilitate aggressive dogs at the dog club because of his non-confrontational temperament.

Hanging out with Boo is a real treat. He loves interacting with both humans and other dogs on the beach and has a special soft side when it comes to children. He seems totally unfazed and relaxed; Boo is the perfect example of a well-loved family pet.